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HIV-related stigma is a key contributor to poor HIV-related health outcomes. The purpose of this study is to explore implementing a stigma measure into routine HIV care focusing on the 10-item Medical Monitoring Project measure as a proposed measure. Healthcare providers engaged in HIV-related care in Florida were recruited. Participants completed an interview about their perceptions of measures to assess stigma during clinical care. The analysis followed a directed content approach. Fifteen participants completed the interviews (87% female, 47% non-Hispanic White, case manager 40%). Most providers thought that talking about stigma would be helpful (89%). Three major themes emerged from the analysis: acceptability, subscales of interest, and utility. In acceptability, participants mentioned that assessing stigma could encourage patient-centered care and serve as a conversation starter, but some mentioned not having enough time. Participants thought that the disclosure concerns and negative self-image subscales were most relevant. Some worried they would not have resources for patients or that some issues were beyond their influence. Participants were generally supportive of routinely addressing HIV-related stigma in clinical care, but were concerned that resources, especially to address concerns about disclosure and negative self-image, were not available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mood disorders are highly prevalent in people living with HIV (PLWH) and represent a potential contributor to functional impairment in activities of daily living. We aimed to determine if (1) Anxiety and depression symptoms were independently associated with impairments in basic self-care, role functioning, and social functioning and (2) PLWH differentially experienced impairments due to mood symptoms compared to those without HIV. Data for this study were obtained from 150 individuals (87 PLWH, 61% male, mean age= 44) via a cross-sectional study on alcohol and HIV-associated brain dysfunction. The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) were used to assess anxiety and depressive symptoms. Higher anxiety symptoms were associated with role functioning impairment, while higher depressive and anxiety symptoms were each associated with social functioning impairment. As depressive symptoms increased, PLWH were 3x more likely to have impairments in role functioning compared to those without HIV. HIV status did not interact with mood symptoms to affect basic self-care or social functioning. Overall, mood symptoms are associated with different types of functional impairment, and improved management of mood symptoms could lead to improved role and social functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People with HIV (PWH) report higher rates of cannabis use than the general population. It is unclear how cannabis use among PWH has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications for the health and wellbeing of PWH. Objectives: To describe changes in frequency of cannabis use among a sample of PWH during the pandemic, reasons for those changes, and implications of the findings. Methods: The data are cross-sectional and come from questions asked in a follow-up phone survey administered to a prospective cohort of PWH in Florida between May 2020 and March 2021. Participants who used cannabis were asked about changes in their frequency of cannabis use in a quantitative survey and reasons for changes in a qualitative open-ended question. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Among 227 PWH (mean age 50, 50% men, 69% Black/African American, 14% Hispanic/Latino), 13% decreased frequency of cannabis, 11% increased frequency, and 76% reported no change. The most common reasons for increasing frequency of cannabis use were reducing anxiety/stress, trying to relax, coping with grief or reducing symptoms of depression, and reducing boredom during the pandemic. Supply or access issues, health concerns, and having already wanted to reduce cannabis use were common reasons for decreased frequency. Conclusion: Nearly 25% of the sample changed their cannabis use frequency during the pandemic. These findings shed light on the behaviors and motivations of PWH who use cannabis and can inform clinical practice and interventions during public health emergencies and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People living with HIV (PLWH) experience a higher rate of age-related comorbidities at younger ages. Understanding common comorbidities among PLWH and their relationship to one another could be significant in improving aging for PLWH. The goal of the present study is to identify the most common comorbidities among PLWH and the relationship between them using network analysis. We used abstracted electronic medical record (EMR) data of PLWH from the Florida Cohort study, a prospective cohort study conducted in eight cities in Florida, USA. We used International Classification of Diseases (10th revision, ICD-10) code to classify comorbidities and organ systems. Network analysis was conducted to determine the degree and betweenness centrality among comorbidities. We included 756 PLWH with an average age of 46.4 years (SD 11.3) in the analysis. Infectious diseases (A00–B99, 50.8%), mental and behavioural (F01–F99, 47.0%), endocrine, nutritional and metabolic (E00–E88, 45.2%), and circulatory (I00–I99, 39%) disorders were the most prevalent system comorbidities among PLWH. Hypertensive disorder (I10–I1635.8%), dyslipidaemia (E78, 25.7%) and major depressive disorder (F32–F33, 23.9%) were the most common non-infectious conditions affecting PLWH. Viral hepatitis (B15–B19, 17.1%) and syphilis (A15–A53, 12%) were the most common coinfections among PLWH. Hypertension, dyslipidaemia and major depressive disorder were the most central of the comorbidities among PLWH. Comorbidities among PLWH were most prevalent for chronic disease and mental illness. Targeting shared disease risk factors in addition to monitoring known pathological pathways may prevent comorbidities among PLWH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]